“To be the best, you have to beat the best.”
That is the message Wright State’s women’s soccer squad has going into this weekend’s Horizon League Championship hosted by UW-Milwaukee.
The Raiders enter the tournament as a No. 2 seed after WSU won its match last Friday over Cleveland State 1-0. Finishing in the top two in the Horizon League meant the Raiders earned a quarterfinal-round bye and will play Oakland in a semifinal match Friday.
Senior defender Liz Soto scored the lone goal in Friday’s match.
WSU head coach Patrick Ferguson, the Horizon League’s recently named Coach of the Year, hopes his senior class can continue their collegiate careers past this weekend.
“This is as good of a senior class as I have ever had,” Ferguson said. “Not just in terms of soccer. Replacing soccer players is easy, but replacing great people is challenging. From that perspective, this has been one of the most enjoyable seasons I have coached just because you’re around good people.”
A win over Oakland Friday means the Raiders will play for the league title and an NCAA Tournament berth on Sunday. Oakland entered the semifinals after defeating Youngstown State 6-2 Tuesday evening in the quarterfinals.
UW-Milwaukee hosts the tournament as the Panthers topped the Raiders in the Horizon League standings. This season was the third straight regular season title for the Panthers.
UW-Milwaukee has knocked out the Raiders of the conference tournament three straight seasons, the last two in the finals. The Raiders are hoping for a rematch with the Panthers this year.
McCurdy is confident that the Raiders will defeat whomever they play Friday and that Milwaukee will do the same.
“I am excited to go there,” WSU goalkeeper Brooke McCurdy said. “I want to see Milwaukee and I want to make it to the finals. I want it to be at Milwaukee. It took us four years but we’re finally going to do it.”
What makes this year’s tournament different to the previous two is the Raiders did not get the quarterfinal bye.
“It is really nice to get time to practice and prepare for Friday,” Soto said. “I think (fatigue) might have had something to do with it. You might not say you’re fatigued, you might not feel it, but playing the Tuesday game then Friday and then Sunday, your body is tired after a while.”
The squad has used a strong defense and Emilie Fillion’s offensive touch en route the Horizon League’s second-best record. The Raiders were just one of two squads in the conference that allowed under a goal per game.
On Monday, McCurdy was named Goalkeeper of the Year and junior defender Allie Metzler was named Defender of the Year by the Horizon League.
“A lot of times, people think the goalie is the defense but honestly, I have had three saves in the two games, not very many before that,” McCurdy said. “It is because of my defenders. They block shots, they get in front of me, they clear the ball. If it were not for them, we would not be anywhere close to where we are.”
Fillion was tied for the league lead in goals with eight this season. Fillion has also been helping other players on the score sheet. She assisted Soto on her goal Friday evening.
“We tried to get her out of the mindset of her only contribution to the team is going to be putting the ball in the goal,” Ferguson said. “We tried to make her a playmaker by having her going back and get the ball and finding other players. When teams started to key on her, we still wanted her to get the ball but we wanted her to find somebody else.”
The Raiders enter Friday’s semifinal on a three-game winning streak.
“I think if we keep playing the way we have, we’re not going to lose,” Soto said.
